Once we left Lake Charlevoix it was a quick 3 hour motor to Petoskey. There was little to no wind today hence the need to motor. When the wind is calm, unfortunately that often means the flies will descend. This passage did not disappoint in that regard. By the time we got to Petoskey the first order of business was to wash the boat. We spent about 2 hours giving her a good scrub to get off all the bug remnants. Then we headed to the showers to clean up ourselves.

We walked around town to check out the shops and had a late lunch/early dinner at Duffy’s Garage which had fabulous brick oven pizza that was amazing. Then we headed back to the boat for our nightly round of cribbage and watching the sunset.

The next day brought spotty showers. We seem to be in the weather pattern of showers and fronts coming through and have yet to experience the high pressure systems that typically bring warm and sunny summer weather. When you live on a boat there are tasks associated with just living that one must accomplish, today it was laundry day. The marina has washers and dryers in their lounge building to make this an easy task. $2 to wash and $2 to dry.

We also spent some time talking with our boat neighbors aboard Wind Dance – Mike and Cheryl who are from the Detroit area and have brought their boat around to Lake Michigan from Lake Huron. We sat and reviewed the charts together and they were able to share with us a wealth of information about Lake Huron. Where to go, where not to go, where to eat, where to dock, etc. It is awesome meeting new people and getting local knowledge from people who have been there before.

The rest of the day was spend doing I don’t know. Sort of falls into the category of “I don’t know what I did today, but it took all day”

The next day was socked in with fog…the entire day. Today is shopping day in town to gather some items that are on our shopping list.

Here are some of the foggy pics:

The fog seemed to have settled in the marina and near the water however, when we headed up the hill and into town it seemed less foggy here. One of our stops was the local hardware store to buy a new hose for washing the boat. Even the hardware store has a cute store front.

We stopped in a variety of other stores and shops along the way and took some photos of the park that runs through the center of town.

That my friends is Ernest Hemingway, who liked to spend time in Petoskey, MI. Where hasn’t Hemingway spent time?

We also spent some time with another couple that we met here in Petoskey last year. Kevin and Joanne who own an Island Packet 350. Last year when we met they had just purchased their boat that very week and have now enjoyed a full year of owning Wild flower. They are a few years behind us in terms of timeline but they are hoping to leave the dock and depart for southern shores and perhaps the Bahamas. The cruising community on the water seems to be very small and most people we meet, it isn’t goodbye, it’s see you later! Based on conversations we expect to run into a lot of people we have met previously in the Bahamas.

In town we found this amazing little general store, Symon’s general store. It’s a bit of a deli, specialty foods and wine kind of place. I prefer to think of it as the happy hour store. They literally have everything you need there for a proper happy hour. Meats, cheeses, snacks, spreads, etc. And wine! The entire basement of the store is this really cool wine cellar that feels like you are in Italy some where. They have some white linen draped tables with a small kitchen that they can host small private dinners. And you feel like you are eating in the wine cellar. The wine selection here was outstanding.

On our last day in Petoskey, the weather finally cleared enough for a proper sunset!